Perceptions
by Marina Lenore
Summary: What would happen if a Kagome raised to be a traditional miko entered the picture? What would happen if, despite her training she still couldn't access her ki accurately? How would Sesshōmaru react to this strange enigma? A journey through perceptions. Sess/Kag, CU. Complete.
1. Perception-Perception

**Kagome: Perception**

Kagome does not really interfere much when the youngish daiyōkai – who is revealed to be Inuyasha's half-brother, Sesshōmaru-sama – comes to Inuyasha to try and find out where the resting place of his father is. Part of this is because – being trained as a miko from a young age – Kagome can almost _see_ the anger, loneliness, and pain coalescing around the daiyōkai. The other part of it is because she is beyond irritated with Inuyasha's continuous slander of her person. Kagome is perfectly talented with a bow and arrows – the reason the Shikon got shattered was because she is used to far better quality weapons than what she was handed, which she remedies when she gets knocked back into her own time after meeting the hanyō.

Honestly, the only reason she even needs the idiot's help is because she can't actually manifest her weird pink ki unless she has been meditating. Her powers don't seem to work the same way that most spiritual ki does, and that weakens her. She can infuse her arrows but that is about it.

So she needs the jerk's help. _Joy_.

Once they are in the tomb, Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru-sama get into another argument, whilst Kagome studies the barrier around the Tessaiga. It is a unique barrier, and she figures out why Inuyasha is able to get past it – and _unable_ to actually grab it – after a few moments of study. Sighing, she stands up, walks over, and pulls the sword out from its sheath. The daiyōkai and hanyō stare at her incredulously and she shrugs, her kimono moving with the shift in her body as she says, "What? The barrier was clearly meant to keep yōkai out but not ningen – it's likely that a ningen has to be the one to remove it. It probably doesn't hurt that I'm a miko, for all that I can barely use my ki."

She turns towards Inuyasha and sighs at him. "I will only give you Tessaiga if you swear not to attack your brother with it. He is hurting enough as it is, I'll not have you adding to that! Otherwise I'll just give it to Sesshōmaru-sama."

"Keh, what the fuck d'you mean by that, bit-"

" _SIT_ Inuyasha!"

The hanyō is promptly buried in bones as the command forces him into the unstable ground beneath them. "I _mean_ what I _said_. And I also mean that I'll bloody well continue sitting you every time you do not call me by my name! I am not "wench", "woman", or "bitch", damn it all! My name is Kagome! Ka-go-me! You _know_ this by now!"

She sighs and turns around to see Sesshōmaru-sama staring at her as if she were a particularly intriguing puzzle. Well, for all she knows, she might be one to him. She knows that she doesn't act like ningen females in this time act, despite her manner of dress being appropriate, and she is a miko who can't actually use her ki very well, despite clearly having the training necessary to do so.

Sure enough, the daiyōkai deigns to address her, asking Kagome, "Why is it you are travelling with the hanyō when he treats you so distastefully, miko?"

She takes in a deep breath and explains what she knows to him, starting with how she was raised as a miko of the shrine she lives on, her inability to call her ki to the fore, and the resultant mess that had come of Mistress Centipede's attack on her, not leaving out Inuyasha's lust for the Shikon or her new duty to gather the shards. "So he is aiding me in my quest now. Not that I'll let him have the Shikon, but I do need to wish the nasty thing out of existence since it has been pulled from me."

"Hn."

Then he speaks again. "This one will come for the Tessaiga in the future, miko. Also, the reason that you cannot pull out your ki is that it is more akin to yōki than to reiryoku. Yōkai channel their yōki through their bones, then muscles, then veins, then blood, and only then can it be accessed properly. This Sesshōmaru believes this information should be beneficial to you. It is a waste to see power unused."

Inuyasha is strangely silent as they exit the tomb – probably wary of getting sat again – and Sesshōmaru-sama leaves them to their own devices, retreating with his kappa servant. Kagome does not for one second believe that the reason Sesshōmaru-sama would be visiting them again would be to honestly try and steal Tessaiga. That was an excuse. It was far more likely that he would be sating his curiosity about her and probing into her relationship with the Shikon, which he clearly despised.

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Perception**

The ornately dressed onna standing by his brother was a puzzle to Sesshōmaru. A puzzle, a cipher, an enigma. She was clearly far above the hanyō, a strange sort of miko whose ki was untrained and far more akin to yōki than to reiryoku, and had some sort of… _power_ over him. What kind of power she had was adeptly demonstrated when she subjugated him into the bones making up the floor of his honoured father's tomb when the impertinent hanyō had the temerity to begin calling her a bitch. His half-brother's insistence on treating females as ningen did was one of a dozen reasons that Sesshōmaru despised his younger brother. Yōkai did not treat females with anything excepting respect and devotion and the utmost care – even stupid ones. Even females they found distasteful were ignored, rather than abused. This miko travelling with the hanyō was clearly intelligent, and had a force of personality much like a yōkai had. Determined, volatile, and empathic. He had not missed that beneath words he would usually have lopped someone else's head off for saying, there had been genuine understanding. It had spared her life, and the story she told him only further heightened his curiosity.

Born with the Shikon inside of her, shattering the jewel due not to inexperience, but due to an unworthy weapon. Being on a journey to collect said shards so she could finally rid the world of that vile thing. Sesshōmaru was beyond intrigued. He would seek his brother out, yes – but not for the Tessaiga. It would be to learn more about this intriguing miko of his.

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome to one of my two current in-progress fics. I'm continuing to break with tradition and posting this even though it is incomplete. I will continue updating on Saturdays, but I thought I would be nice and give the first update today. This is probably going to be a relatively short fic, with short chapters (averaging about 1k words, some a little shorter and some a little longer. Tenses will switch depending on what the characters demand of me. I hope you enjoy this: As a warning Sesshōmaru is fairly OOC (to an extent) however THIS IS EXPLAINED IN CHAPTER THREE. (Not to mention I always use the manga portrayal of Sesshōmaru, and in the manga he was far more emotional to begin with, even if his emotions were all negative.)


	2. Friendship-Confrontation

**Kagome: Friendship**

Her second encounter with Sesshōmaru-sama occurred a week and a half later, as he approached their group with the supposed intention of trying to get the Tessaiga from Inuyasha. It was clearly more than that, however, as Kagome could tell that beyond the fighting – those scathing comments, the way he held himself, the way he was telling Inuyasha when he messed up – he was actually _teaching_ Inuyasha how to use his sword. It was an exceptionally generous thing to do, especially considering how rudely Inuyasha treated Sesshōmaru-sama. Whenever he got too rude, however, Kagome used the beads, effectively cutting off the strings of disparaging remarks aimed towards Sesshōmaru-sama.

Once the training was completed, Sesshōmaru-sama walked over and asked her, "Has he learned yet?"

She didn't ask _what_ – she knew very well what he was asking. "The beads are still getting used multiple times a day. I do not understand how Kikyō bore up under this kind of treatment."

Sesshōmaru made an acknowledging "Hn." before stating, "It is likely she did not suffer the same treatment you do. No self-respecting miko would be attracted to one who treated them so deplorably as Inuyasha treats you."

Then he changed the subject entirely, "How has this Sesshōmaru's advice been aiding you?"

Kagome smiled brightly, "Oh, wonderfully! It's still difficult, as it goes against all my training up until this point, but it's slowly becoming easier for me to draw out my ki than it used to be. Meditation still works best, but I rarely get the chance, that idiot Inuyasha seems insistent on pushing us until we drop."

"Us" being Kagome, Shippō, Sango, and Miroku, the newest members of their tachi. Kirara was less of an issue there, being yōkai and needing less rest to be ready for a new day and more relentless travels.

Sesshōmaru-sama nodded shortly at that, before pulling an absolutely magnificent blade out from his obi. Kagome hadn't even noticed it before he handed it to her. "This Sesshōmaru believes that you need an adequate close-range defence, miko. He will tutor you in its use when he visits, and expects you to practise your kata daily. It might be beneficial to wake up earlier and train your body to need less sleep so that you can do so without slowing the hanyō down."

Kagome grumbled, "If he protests I'll just sit him three feet into the earth. I'm contemplating doing so anyhow if only to make him let up on pushing us all. But… I do have a question for you, Sesshōmaru-sama."

He raised an eyebrow and indicated for her to continue with a twist of his wrist. "I thought you hated ningen, so… why are you helping me?"

He chuckled (wow that was a _really_ gorgeous and sexy sound!) and shook his head. "This Sesshōmaru despises weakness and wilful ignorance. As well as abject stupidity and blindness. Ningen do have many of those qualities inherent to them and their culture, but you are not an average ningen, miko. You have great potential that must not be wasted."

Kagome thought about this. Well, it certainly made sense. Sesshōmaru-sama respected power and thus a waste of power would be abhorrent to him. "So… What you're suggesting is…?"

He smirked, making her heart flutter unsteadily in her chest, as Sesshōmaru-sama was the most handsome being probably in existence. "An… _alliance_ , miko. Training, commiseration," likely over Inuyasha's less admirable qualities, like his inability to even say her damn name, "and companionship of another inordinately powerful being."

 _Alliance, my ass! Sesshōmaru isn't proposing an alliance, he's proposing… friendship. Although he likely doesn't realise that at the moment. Somehow I get the impression Sesshōmaru hasn't had many – if any – friends over his lifetime._ Kagome smiled brightly at him and nodded, "That sounds wonderful, Sesshōmaru-sama. Does this alliance include you perhaps calling me by my name instead of by "miko"?"

Sesshōmaru seemed genuinely perplexed at the comment, before his reason for his emotions became clear as he stated, "Miko is your title, and a sign of great respect. This Sesshōmaru fully understands your dislike of being called degrading things, but this is not one such case."

Oh. Well then. That boded rather well for things. Still, though… "Well, we'll work on that. I still prefer my name, but thank you for explaining that to me. It never upset me like the things Inuyasha calls me, but it will take some getting used to. I am not used to being called by a title."

He nodded shortly, then dove straight into the lesson, showing her forms and kata for her to learn, making sure she could perform each one a dozen times flawlessly before he left them.

* * *

 **Inuyasha: Confrontation**

"What the fuck was that all about, bit-"

Kikyō's reincarnation sighed and sat him again before he could finish the expletive, " _Sit_ , Inuyasha!"

Then she huffed and stated, "For one, it's none of your business whom I talk to or what I talk to them about. For two, Sesshōmaru-sama noticed that I needed a close-range weapon and more ki training, and offered to teach me what I needed to know to be able to protect myself and the group better. We've entered an… alliance."

Inuyasha did _not_ like the sound of that. How fuckin' unfair was it that the asshole had never paid him any positive attention before now, and now the stupid, useless _wench_ he was travelling with was getting special attention? Completely unfair, is what it was.

Although, Inuyasha had to admit… his asshole older brother had helped him out today. It hadn't escaped his notice that if the jerk had wanted the Tessaiga he could have easily taken it, for all he wouldn't be able to use it. He'd been _teaching_ Inuyasha how to use the sword, probably the only way that would work.

Sighing, he decided to just accept it. He thought Kagome was wrong – he had _every_ right to be in her business since she was Kikyō's reincarnation – but Kagome was different enough that it would only drive her away if he did so. He didn't want that. He'd get her eventually, and that would be good enough for him.


	3. Confusion-Insight

**Kagome: Confusion**

Kagome was… well, confused would be an understatement. The understatement of a lifetime, or century, even. For the past two weeks, she'd only had to use the beads on Inuyasha three times, compared to their at least once daily usage from before.

When she asked Sesshōmaru about it, he considered her comments, before asking a few pertinent questions – such as when this began, and what she thought might have triggered it (her interactions with Sesshōmaru, definitely, the training and tacit camaraderie that had sprung up between them). His darkening expression was worrying, as was his comment to her afterwards. "He is trying to replace her with you, even though he also has her to go to. What a dishonourable cur."

Kagome's reaction, however, would have been _explosive_ had she not been trained to be polite and restrained from a young age to the point that it was an integral part of her to respond to situations in a more suitable manner – for all that Inuyasha usually still regularly managed to raise her temper past the breaking point. "He is _what_?" She hissed out, fury lacing every word.

How _dare_ he! First he treats her like shit, right to her face, then he constantly compares her to his ex, and then said ex gets pulled from her body and he treats her radically differently, and now he has the _nerve_ to try to keep both of them? Oh, she didn't bloody well think so! "Well he is going to find out that I will not _ever_ tolerate being a replacement for anyone else, much less someone he has with him damn near constantly what with how often they meet up when he thinks I'm not aware of it!"

Sesshōmaru, for some reason, seemed inordinately pleased by her response, which hadn't come until a _long_ time of fuming and trying to calm herself down. "Good for you, Kagome. Do not allow his behaviour to make you forget his purpose, or how he treated you to begin with. He does not respect you."

Oh, she wouldn't be forgetting. She also wouldn't be forgetting how _Sesshōmaru_ treated her, which was the opposite of Inuyasha's actions. He was a hard, but understanding, sensei, and she could do more with her ki now than she had ever been able to manage before in her whole life. She could even channel it through her blade now, and this after just only a few weeks of teaching!

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Insight**

Kagome's confusion over Inuyasha's actions was met by a budding suspicion from Sesshōmaru that was beginning to stir distaste in his gut. As he questioned the miko, more and more things became clear, and when he finally realised the extent of his hanyō half-brother's intentions, he was _utterly infuriated_. Kagome was _his_ , not his half-brother's!

Wait – _what_?

Sesshōmaru took the time that Kagome was thinking in order to think, himself. Suddenly a dozen things clicked into place as he realised that this was more than just a feeling of possession that came from having the first friend he had ever had in his life. It definitely explained why he had been so reluctant to attempt to kill her from the beginning. It also explained how easy it had been to transition to using her name, the sheer joy he got from teaching and instructing her, how her presence mellowed him out, how he felt like he could be himself around her without her pressuring him to act differently, how her always preparing tea for him before he began her lessons made warmth blossom in his chest.

He _wanted_ her. His instincts had Claimed her. And she would be his, if it was the last thing he did. He wouldn't be so crass as to force the issue, however. She was going through a lot, and clearly appreciated him for who he was, so he could afford to do this slowly. To take his time. To woo her. It wasn't as if the mating bond wouldn't tie their lifespans together, after all, so there was no rush.

Still… he had to thank his brother for his despicable intentions, even though he would never do so out loud. They had forced a realisation that he might have ignored otherwise. Not lied to himself about – Sesshōmaru believed in honour and honesty, and how could one be honest with others if they were dishonest towards themselves? – but likely just not noticed, possibly until it was far too late to do anything about.

After all, the miko Kagome was stunning, powerful, well mannered, determined, outspoken, and highly intelligent – a catch by even yōkai standards, much less ningen standards. She likely would have met someone, either yōkai or ningen, by the time he realised the nature of his feelings for her were it not for his dishonourable brother.

Ah, she had begun speaking again – the sheer fury lacing her words was a delight to Sesshōmaru.

She would make a perfect mate.

Now all he had to do was win his future mate over. First thing on the list: completely cease calling her "miko", and see if she was amenable to cementing the alliance into a friendship. That would do for a first move. The rest could come later, as he learned her more.


	4. Dissonance-Clarity

**Kagome: Dissonance**

"What does Tenseiga do, exactly, Sesshōmaru?"

Just last week Sesshōmaru had asked Kagome if she would be amenable to changing their alliance into a friendship, which had made her want to shout with glee. Sesshōmaru had now lost his -sama around her in speech as well as in thought, and he was growing and changing, at least towards her. The altercation with Tōtōsai and Inuyasha earlier, however, proved that he still had a ways to go in his personal growth – not that Kagome would ever try to change him. But still, she was curious about some of the comments and was curious about Tenseiga.

He looked at her, interest evident in his posture and his eyes, and stated, "Tenseiga can resurrect the dead. Only once, but still. Because of this, it cannot cut living things."

Kagome bit her lip at that, wondering how she could word her observation that Tōtōsai was right without upsetting her friend. Sesshōmaru wasn't even truly after Tessaiga any more any how, so why was he so displeased with the amazing gift he had been given? It didn't make much sense, because Tenseiga was inordinately powerful if it could do such a thing, and Sesshōmaru highly respected power. Maybe… Maybe he just hadn't _thought_ about how extraordinary Tenseiga was, because he'd been obsessed by the power of Tessaiga? The theory certainly made sense, so all that was left now was finding out how to _word_ her rapidly-forming thoughts in an orderly fashion. If she could get the words right, it was possible she could open his eyes as to what an amazing gift he possessed. What a wonderful and superior weapon he had been given by his father, for all that it could not cut anything living.

So, carefully, she began speaking her thoughts aloud, using instinct to guide her. "Sesshōmaru… you are the most powerful yōkai I will ever meet. I would say that with the aid of your whip, you could easily lop the heads or bodies off of at _least_ a hundred yōkai in one swift stroke. Tessaiga, then, is weak. Beneath you. All it would do is weaken you were you to use it. But _Tenseiga_ , on the other hand… Tenseiga gives you control over _life and death_. What other being aside from the Kami can claim to have such power at their fingertips?"

Sesshōmaru looked pole-axed by her comment, and Kagome smiled softly at him, "The gift your father gave you is priceless, Sesshōmaru. Irreplaceable. Tessaiga would have just weakened you, whereas Inuyasha, unworthy of it as he is, could not hope to achieve even the barest fraction of what you can just under his own ability. I am not you, and I would never think to try and tell you how you should think or feel, but I will say this – if I were given a gift like Tenseiga, I would treasure it for the miracle it is. I would consider it a worthy and wonderful boon, even though it cannot cut living matter."

Sesshōmaru tilted his head towards her, "No, I do not doubt that you would… You have given me much to think on, Kagome. Thank you for your insight."

Kagome smiled again, hoping that his thoughts would soon parallel hers.

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Clarity**

Sesshōmaru should have expected this query from Kagome. So he answered it, expressing his utter distaste the entire time. She mulled it over and he wondered what she would have to say – her outlook was by no means the same as his own, and he knew she would see things differently.

After a time, she spoke, and the longer she spoke, the more amazed Sesshōmaru became. _Never_ … not once in his life, had he ever thought to look at things in such a view. And now he cursed his utter _idiocy_ in his persistent thinking of Tenseiga as inferior. A suitable weapon it might not be, but it clearly was an artefact of great power. _Power over life and death… What a gift you gave to me, Father. I was mistaken in considering it to be unworthy, and I accept that, now._

He gave Kagome a small smile after mulling it over for a short time, and nodded firmly toward her. "You are right. My father gave me a gift beyond parallel, and I have unwisely allowed it to languish. A gift such as this was meant to be used – and should be used. Only on those worthy of its gift, though."

He would not compromise his beliefs and begin resurrecting weak fools who would only get themselves killed again. That would be a waste of Tenseiga's talents. Only those powerful or extraordinary enough (or with the potential to become powerful or extraordinary) would have Tenseiga used upon their forms.

Suddenly Tenseiga hummed in approval at him and he smirked. _The blade wishes to be used. Then, indeed, I ought to use it. Sparingly_.


	5. Urge-Change

**Sesshōmaru: Urge**

As Sesshōmaru passes near one of the ningen villages scattered across his lands, this one close to the border, the scent of blood taunts him, and he moves closer to investigate. The slaughter of an entire village is unexpected, but then he catches the scent of ōkami and sighs. _Of course. Kōga's work, no doubt. I will have to threaten them to stop eating the ningen protected by living in my lands. Or they will_ _suffer_ _for it._ Ningen might be useless as a whole, but if they are on his lands they are _his_ to protect, and the ōkami will just have to learn that, even if it means slaughtering the lot of them to prove his point.

As he passes by the corpse of a malnourished-looking girl of about eight or so, however, Tenseiga… pulses. The sword clearly wishes to be used upon the girl-child, and Sesshōmaru decides, why not? As a child she can be moulded into a more pleasing mindset, and it would do him good to have pack again, no matter how young she is. An inu without a pack is hardly an inu at all, really, and whilst Sesshōmaru would have (and, indeed, had) scorned such thoughts previously in his insistence on following the Path of Supreme Conquest… He has been indelibly changed by Kagome. He can no longer continue on such a path if he is to mate her. So he waves the sword over the ningen girl-child, and as she takes in a deep breath and her eyes flutter open, she stares at him. He asks her, "What is your name?"

She answers tentatively, but not until he picks her up and shields her vision from the carnage surrounding them, walking out of the village. "R-rin. What is your name, yōkai-sama?"

He answers easily, having reached the forest. "This one is called Sesshōmaru, Rin. You will travel with this one now and he shall care for you."

The young girl bursts into tears, clinging to his haori as she sobs out, "T-thank you, Sesshōmaru-sama! You saved Rin! They ate and ate and it hurt so badly but then there was white light and no more pain so _thank you_ , Sesshōmaru-sama!"

He pats her back, slightly uncomfortable with the outburst of emotion and unsure of how to deal with it, but it seems to resolve on its own and soon the young girl – Rin – is sniffling and dozing in and out. Of course, she has had a stressful day, first being eaten alive by ōkami and then being resurrected from the dead by Tenseiga. Not to mention being told she will be taken care of by someone – Sesshōmaru notices even more acutely now that she is severely malnourished; likely an orphan the village could not afford to care for. Or possibly even simply did not _wish_ to care for. Ningen can be every last bit as heartless as yōkai seem to be.

He pulses his aura four times; within half a candle mark his kappa servant Jaken and his dragon Ah-Un are ambling towards him. It is about time to buy provisions for the ningen in his brother's pack – he should introduce them to Rin. Kagome will dote on the young girl and he has a feeling that her attention will help to heal the child far more than any amount of medicine ever could.

* * *

 **Kagome: Change**

Kagome had been proud beyond belief of Sesshōmaru when he showed up – like he always did twice a week, carrying provisions that their ragtag band could not feasibly afford and that Inuyasha would be disinclined to get for them anyhow – with a malnourished little girl following in his wake. He easily told her of what had happened to the girl, and Kagome had the pleasure of informing him that she had already gotten Kōga – who he had informed her he was planning on visiting, asking if she could care for Rin for a few days – to agree to stop eating ningen. He had looked mildly surprised, but when he told her that it figured something like that would happen, his tone had not really been shocked. Instead it had been filled with a wry amusement.

Sesshōmaru was _much_ more open with his emotions and feelings around her now, although he was still cold and closed off to almost everyone else, Shippō and Rin being the only other exceptions.

The two children had gotten along fabulously once they were introduced, but… Rin showing up had changed how Shippō acted to an extent that Kagome felt that she could finally ask the little kitsune something she had been wishing to ask him almost for a month now.

She knew that Shippō had never known his mother, only his father, and when she first felt the urge to call him her son she had felt like it was too soon after his father's death to ask if she could adopt him; but those longing looks his pretty green eyes kept shooting her gave her a feeling that maybe she should have asked straight away despite wanting to give him more time to grieve.

So, once they were in her bedroll for the night and she was almost done grooming him (she had asked Sesshōmaru about kitsune habits and was now – in return for lessons on her knowledge of how the world worked that she knew from the future – getting a crash course on inu and kitsune gestures, behaviours, and language), she whispered softly to him, "Shippō, dear?"

He looked up at her, adorably blinking sleepily and barely holding back a yawn as he said, "Yes, Kagome?"

She stroked her fingers through his hair, finishing her grooming, before asking him, "Would you mind having me for a mama, Shippō?"

His eyes widened and he clutched at her kimono front, wetness seeping into the fabric as he nodded fervently, shaking so much that she wrapped her arms around him and growled a comforting noise to him. She barely heard his answer, "Shippō wants Kagome as his mama _so_ much!"

She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead softly, kissing the trails of tears on his cheeks, "Then that's decided. I'll be your mama, Shippō-dearest, and you'll be my wonderful son."

She heard Inuyasha grumble from the tree he was stationed in, but ignored it. The jerk could damn well just deal with it.


	6. Soul-Spirit

**Kagome: Soul**

Having her soul stolen from her has a rather _drastic_ effect on Kagome, and as soon as Inuyasha is back from visiting with that traitorous dead miko (Kagome doesn't _care_ that Kikyō almost certainly has a plan to kill Naraku that involves him having the Shikon – Kikyō has tried to kill Kagome, repeatedly endangered her tachi, and is constantly betraying them. She is a traitor and Inuyasha is a damn fool not to see that) Kagome demands that he summon Myōga, send him to find Sesshōmaru, and bring the daiyōkai to them. When Inuyasha protests that she shouldn't be ordering him around, as _he_ is the (supposed) leader of the group, she growls threateningly – which makes his ears fall back against his head; _good_ – and tells him that if he does not follow her wishes she will purify him so hard that he is ningen for _days_.

With her ki sparking out from her fingertips and her skin glowing pink, the hanyō wisely agrees to her demand, and soon enough the flea and his crow servant are in the hut they are resting in. Kagome gives Myōga her request-slash-demand, and whilst he quails at it, she tells him what they just went through and he eagerly complies, always willing to give Kagome any help she needs.

Inuyasha is in a deep, healing sleep by the time the flea yōkai leaves – he shouldn't have visited Kikyō when he was so drastically injured, honestly – and Kagome spends her time waiting for her best friend alternately cuddling with Shippō and the shrunken Kirara, barely keeping herself composed. Eventually Kirara climbs up to her shoulder, rubbing against her neck and cheek and purring comfortingly – the nekomata can clearly tell that Kagome is barely able to keep from falling to pieces. Kagome spends the rest of the time reassuring her son that he didn't lose the mother he just gained, grooming him meticulously to comfort the both of them; grooming him is almost as calming to her as meditation is, and being groomed by him has a similar effect. She is too distressed to meditate right now, however, and desperately needs the one person she knows she can always trust to be able to support her before she flies apart.

Kagome isn't sure how long it takes, but it feels like forever passes before she feels a familiar energy signature nearing them and asks Miroku and Kirara to protect Sango, Shippō, and Inuyasha while she is gone – Kagome intends to have her highly reasonable breakdown _away_ from the rest of the group and _out_ of their hearing range.

So she uses a new trick Sesshōmaru is teaching her to infuse her legs with her miko-ki, and runs towards his swiftly nearing ki signature. When she finally sees him, he catches sight of her, and lowers to the ground from his mokomoko-sama cloud. Kagome catches sight of the crow controlled by Myōga heading towards the hut and sighs in relief. As much as she likes the tiny yōkai, she doesn't want anybody else to see her reaction to how completely, wholly, and utterly terrifying her experience had been. Not just terrifying, either – that had been the most agonisingly painful thing she had ever experienced as well, and she doubted that anything else could surpass it, as it had been a pain of her entire being – not just her body but her mind and her soul too. She had _felt_ the pain of her soul, trapped as it was, despite being unable to call it back to her.

Once Sesshōmaru was there, he sat on the ground and patted his leg. Kagome recognised the gesture and rushed towards him, climbing into her best friend's lap and beginning to sob her heart out, brokenly explaining what happened, how it felt, how she couldn't let the others see her like this but that she also couldn't bear to break down all alone. His arms wrapped around her and he growled comfortingly to her, which just led to her sobbing even harder.

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Spirit**

Kagome, his precious, wonderful miko, was clearly at the edge of what she could handle. Sesshōmaru knew how difficult this journey she was on was to her – despite how well she had held up so far, that was through sheer strength of will and an indomitable spirit that would never give up and refused to consider failure as an option. In many ways, Kagome was _exactly_ like him.

However, she had still been brutally ripped from her time, torn away from the comfort of her home and her family, been treated like dirt, had a piece of her soul torn from her body, and now, had had the _entirety_ of her soul pulled from her being and trapped with other souls inside of a mirror that had no place existing on this earth. He shuddered to think of what that would feel like, not just on a physical level, but on a mental and spiritual level as well. From the broken words coming from the lips of the woman he was coming to love, it had been terrifying, agonising, and traumatising.

So he simply kept up his comforting growling, running his claws and fingers through her wavy black hair as she sobbed brokenly, occasionally expressing things to him and confessing how difficult being the heart of her group was for her. She was so strong, so powerful, and yet so fragile as well, being in an unfamiliar time, having to rely on someone who had proven time and time again that she couldn't trust him, and – apparently, which, surprised the hell out of Sesshōmaru – only being able to see the person she considered to be her best friend twice a sennight, instead of having him there to rely on constantly.

On the one hand, he was best pleased that his efforts to court her were making such timely progress; on the other hand, it _was_ distressing, but he simply couldn't join up with her tachi with Inuyasha there. The hanyō would never allow it, for many reasons, the greatest of which being that if Sesshōmaru joined Inuyasha's pack, _he_ would become the new alpha, as he was stronger and older than Inuyasha.

So instead he kept up his growling, rocking slightly and continuing to comb his fingers through her hair. Being his intended mate, he instinctively knew what to do to comfort her, much unlike his initial confusion with regards to Rin. When her sobs finally slowed and stopped, he tilted her head up and instinctively licked the tears from her cheeks. She looked shocked, but then blushed quite fetchingly and nodded, murmuring a soft, "Thank you, Sesshōmaru… for everything, but especially just for being here for me when I needed you."

He hummed tunelessly and said to her, vocalising the thought that had been rolling around his mind ever since he found out what had happened to her from Myōga. "You are welcome, Kagome. I understand that your experience must have been horrifically traumatising for you, but there is this to come of it – now you know undoubtedly that your spirit is too strong for Naraku to capture, and your soul too large for him to keep hold of. He can try all he wants, but the spider will _never_ have you, Kagome. You have the most indomitable and powerful spirit I have ever seen."

She blushed again at his praise, and then smiled brightly at him, her mood shifting abruptly. "You're right, Sesshōmaru. I hadn't been able to think of it that way before. Thank you."

He held her for a moment more, then walked with her back to the hut her friends and son were staying in. Before he left, he whispered to her, soft enough that only Kagome, Shippō, and Kirara would be able to hear, "You are not the only one that wishes to travel constantly with the other. It cannot happen as things stand, but perhaps, in the future, it will be manageable."

Then he kissed her forehead and swept away on his mokomoko-sama cloud.


	7. Uncontrollable-Horror

**Sesshōmaru: Uncontrollable**

His visit to Bokusenō had been highly informative in many unpleasant ways, and Sesshōmaru knew that, like it or not, Inuyasha _would_ be dealing with his taking over their pack. Sesshōmaru trusted his instincts above all else, and despite severely disliking the information he had been given, his instincts insisted that the old magnolia yōkai was right – and that this was yet another reason for his father to have given the Tessaiga to Inuyasha: Tenseiga was too gentle a blade to control the powerful blood of his father overwhelming the hanyō.

So he travelled speedily to where he sensed his brother and his miko to be – only to walk in on a slaughter that Inuyasha was in the midst of continuing. Kagome, the monk, the taijiya, Kirara, and Shippō were looking on fearfully and clearly unable to stop the hanyō without severe injury to themselves.

The person he had been before meeting the beautiful miko that was rapidly becoming his reason to exist would have fought his brother; disdaining him, degrading him, and dismissing him. However, that was not the situation now, and everyone in their small group was well aware that his "attempts" to take the Tessaiga were in reality him teaching his brother swordplay the only way the hanyō could learn it well. He was not like Kagome, who could learn through formal means – Inuyasha had to learn solely by experiencing things, when it came to physical things such as swordplay, even though it meant that while he could copy the moves accurately, his form was deplorable.

So instead of fighting him, he reverted to the one thing that he knew his brother in such a state would be unable to ignore: instinct. After all, right now all that he was was a raging ball of instincts and killing intent. Stepping onto the dirt path through the bloodbath, he rushed his brother, rapidly pinning the bloodied hanyō to the ground. His left knee was holding his brother's legs, his left arm his brother's chest, and his right hand his brother's throat, as he growled viciously, " _Submit_!"

Of course, the crazed hanyō struggled, but he tightened his hand around his neck, cutting off his air supply bit by bit as he demanded yet again, "I said _s_ _ubmit to your alpha, Inuyasha_!"

It worked, and soon the crimson was fading from his brother's eyes, turning into gold, as the hanyō grabbed his haori sleeve and choked out, "S-Sesshōmaru? Wha- _Oh_."

Sesshōmaru fluidly stood up, the blood easily being dispelled by his yōkai-made clothing as he stood over his half-brother, eyeing him carefully. "Someone return Tessaiga, quickly."

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had sat up and was watching the surroundings, unadulterated horror on his face as he was clearly repulsed by what he had done, "Oh Kami I can't believe I… Oh, _Kami_."

As he expected, Kagome had the sword in her hands, and she gently laid it on Inuyasha's lap as he bent over double in evident psychological pain. She looked up to Sesshōmaru, worry in her eyes, and he gently explained to her, "I just learned from a wise yōkai acquaintance of mine that without the Tessaiga, the strength of our honoured father's blood overcomes and overpowers the weakness in his mother's blood, as she had no spiritual powers to her that would have balanced his blood out and stabilised it. Because he is hanyō, not yōkai, his instincts are muted and dulled, so when he becomes yōkai by losing the sword, he turns into an endlessly bloodthirsty ball of uncontrollable, overly powerful instincts and killing intent."

Then he turned to his half-brother. "You are exceptionally strong, Inuyasha, but that also makes you exceptionally dangerous. This Sesshōmaru will be adding his pack to your own from this point forward, as he will not have you risking the lives of those around you."

* * *

 **Inuyasha: Horror**

Inuyasha heard his half-brother's words, and – while he normally would have protested such high-handed demands – numbly nodded. All he could see around him were broken, discarded bodies, blood everywhere, the puddle of it beneath him. His clothing would be drenched in it had the fire-rat robes not been of yōkai make and thus designed to repel foreign substances. As it was his face, neck, hands, and feet were all stained a rapidly rusting red, the bright colour of fresh blood dulling as it dried on his skin.

He shuddered and tears escaped his eyes as the horror and disgust of what he had done slammed into him full force. Sesshōmaru was right – until he could control and wield Tessaiga again he was a danger to the pack. Not "his" pack, not any more. And, he thought, as he looked up to see Sesshōmaru tenderly brushing a strand of hair from Kagome's face as she went to hug him, probably not ever again. Well… He didn't like it, but he could deal with it. It wasn't like he'd actually honestly been the leader and alpha before, anyhow; if he was truthful with himself that position had belonged to Kagome the moment those damned subjugation beads went around his neck and she gained control over them.

He wasn't even really the leader by merit of being the strongest fighter, either – he knew that Tessaiga being so powerful was the _only_ reason he could match up to the rest of the group and overpower them. Without the sword… well, he  was strong, but he was a _survivor_ , not a _warrior_. The only one weaker than him was Shippō, and the kit was just a kid, so of course he was stronger than the little kitsune. Kagome, however… Kagome was inordinately powerful. She had ki to spare no matter how much of it she used, she was wicked with her bow and arrows, and she was getting pretty damn good with the katana she'd been given, too.

Inuyasha had been kinda aware of all this before today, but he'd just had it hammered home to him that he needed, _desperately_ , to learn to control Tessaiga again, and that his half-brother would _always_ be stronger than him.

The only reason he didn't resent the fact was because the jerk actually was kinda actin' like an older brother should now, teachin' him how to use his sword and providin' food for the group that they couldn't afford to buy, being broke and constantly travellin' in search of shards too frequently for any of them to earn any coin.

Sighing, he got up and looked over at the group, who all seemed to be wonderin' if he'd actually _really_ agree. They didn't get that there _was_ no choice, not only 'cause Sesshōmaru hadn't asked, but because Inuyasha had submitted to him earlier. Even if their packs had stayed separate, Sesshōmaru _still_ woulda been alpha. Technically he already had been, but until they had a confrontation where it was proven, neither of 'em woulda actually paid attention to that. "Alright. I'm beta now. And we'll be havin' new members added to the group, but at least it ain't like we don't know 'em already."

He heaved a gusty sigh, "I gotta get a hold of Tōtōsai so he can help me learn how to use Tessaiga properly again."

He looked at his half-brother, who nodded in acceptance, and then walked off of the path. He needed to be alone for a while to get to grips with the new state of things, and come to terms with the fact that, today, he had become a murderer.


	8. Transformation-Wayside

**A/N:** I'm having some pest problems at the moment, and not able to be in my apartment. I have to be up on the mountain with my grandparents, where there is no internet. Therefore, I shall be updating today this week instead of Friday. _This is this week's update! Not an extra update!_

 **Tōtōsai: Transformation**

Finding out that Inuyasha's inability to control the Tessaiga had led to him becoming a full yōkai and indiscriminately slaughtering everybody around him was _genuinely_ distressing for Tōtōsai. He rather liked the hanyō: he was strong, fairly honourable despite some of his rather more glaring flaws, and genuinely wanted to help other people now. Tōtōsai rather doubted he would have liked the youngest son of his old friend and master before he had begun his quest, but that didn't bother him; he hadn't known the hanyō back then and so what he was like previous to Tōtōsai getting to know him didn't matter to the old sword smith.

 _That_ change had been one that Tōtōsai was unable to witness the development of, but the other – ah. The other was radically different. When Tōtōsai met Inuyasha for the first time, Sesshōmaru had drastically changed from the previous time they had met, and now that he was seeing his old master's eldest son again, he could see that the changes had just continued and compounded. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the yōkai leading what _used_ to be Inuyasha's pack could not _possibly_ be the same being that had been pestering him to make him a sword for almost a century now. Especially when Sesshōmaru didn't even make the usual demand of him, instead tilting his head so that Inuyasha could explain the situation to him.

It was clear what – or more accurately, _who_ – was the focus of that change, too. Standing completely comfortably next to Sesshōmaru, with the little kitsune perched upon her shoulder, was Kagome; the Shikon Miko. She was a contradiction with her entire being. Ningen, but acted like a yōkai, refused to be cowed or intimidated, more powerful than possibly even _Midoriko_ had been, and with ki that was more akin to yōki, rather than having reiryoku. He hadn't missed the young daiyōkai's interaction with her the last time he'd seen them together, and it was even clearer now – the pup was _courting_ her! Sesshōmaru was courting a ningen! Granted, a highly atypical ningen, and one with power, but even so, the change was incredibly drastic and obvious.

So much so that Tōtōsai _almost_ offered to make him a blade. _Almost_. It wasn't the right time yet, and besides, the pup was clearly getting along fine with just Tenseiga – and he appreciated the grand and powerful gift his father had given him now, instead of disdaining it.

Such change was nearly unprecedented.

To think of it, all because of a little ningen miko.

* * *

 **Kagome: Wayside**

Kagome had watched the battle with Ryūkotsusei with a fair amount of trepidation – if even his _father_ hadn't been able to beat the dragon daiyōkai, how would Inuyasha be able to do so? But Tōtōsai had insisted, and she knew that he wouldn't do anything that could harm them; he was fond of Inuyasha and the group as a whole, after all. Sesshōmaru kept them back, insisting that it was Inuyasha's right to do what he had to do in order to master the re-forged Tessaiga.

She knew it wasn't just that though: he wanted them all where he could protect them in case anything bad happened again. Sesshōmaru was a _highly_ responsible alpha.

Sure enough, the worst happened, and after many, _many_ unsuccessful attacks, Inuyasha lost the Tessaiga and began ripping into Ryūkotsusei with his claws, which actually seemed to be having an effect. This time, however, the transformation was incomplete. Sesshōmaru growled in approval as Inuyasha began fighting back against it, crimson and gold flickering back and forth as he alternated between attacking the dragon daiyōkai and looking around for Tessaiga.

It seemed to take forever before he found it, a forever where Tōtōsai kept inching further behind Sesshōmaru, clearly wanting to leave, and when he did… He struck home! But the attack failed to do any actual injury, and the fight began in earnest once more. When Inuyasha refused to retreat despite Tōtōsai's advice, Ryūkotsusei unleashed a powerful blast of yōki, and Kagome feared that the hanyō would lose Tessaiga again – but instead, he _cut through_ the yōki, Tōtōsai informing them that he had managed to master the Backlash Wave.

That done, the fight was clearly over, as the powerful dragon daiyōkai was cut into pieces by the attack, and Sesshōmaru congratulated Inuyasha on his achievement, politely not mentioning what both he and Kagome had been aware of this entire time: the sealing that Ryūkotsusei had undergone had weakened him – not by a truly significant amount, but enough that he could be defeated by a powerful enough attack.

Instead, they celebrated that night, and Inuyasha basked in the joy of friendship. Kagome was glad he had given up on trying to get her to love him, and had for several weeks before this. She could honestly call him a friend now.


	9. Comprehension-Realisations

**A/N:** I'm sorry to be so inconsistent with updates lately, with the recent move and all that things have just been all over the place. Complications, _ugh_. I'm having company over this weekend and so will be updating today instead of midnight as per. I really need to get my ass in gear, buffer is perilously low and muse is not cooperating, finicky little bitch. So you get another early update this week although not as unavoidably early as last week's was! I love you all, thank you for the reviews, they warm my heart. I'm glad people like this measly little thing.

 **Jaken: Comprehension**

As they travelled, Jaken mused silently on the enigma that was Kagome-sama and how she had turned his once-boring world into an existence that actually held _meaning_ now, for all that it was nowhere near as orderly and mundane as it used to be.

The little kappa servant of the great and powerful Sesshōmaru-sama was inordinately _proud_ of his master. Not that he had ever been anything less than proud to _serve_ his master and be in his master's command, but for almost a century now his service had been dull and ordinary; travelling around, watching Sesshōmaru-sama slaughter other yōkai and rogue ningen in the name of protecting his lands, and occasionally fetching things for various tasks, as well as being sure to inform his master of when he had appointments that needed going to. Sesshōmaru-sama tended to put off the duties of actually _ruling_ his lands rather than just _protecting_ them for as long as possible.

He rather thought that would be different once their new quest was complete, and it was all because his master had done what was the most difficult thing for a daiyōkai of great power who is content in their life to do: he _changed_. Just slightly at first – not really unknowingly, but without a full comprehension of his actions in the very beginning. But then, not long after that, the change became _purposeful_. There were no words for how proud he was of his master for actively doing such a difficult thing.

And the change had only bettered his master's life, really. First had come Rin, who was a breath of fresh air (no matter that Jaken would never do anything but complain about her out loud; she was precious to him) and also his master's (at the time) only pack. Jaken was well-educated, and knew that an inu without a pack was really not an inu at all, no matter how frequently they took on their true forms. They were just a nameless breed of yōkai; because pack was integral and necessary to inu culture. Even if that pack consisted of only one person, an inu _had_ to have a pack. Jaken and Ah-Un did not count as pack, no matter that they frequently travelled with Sesshōmaru-sama. He considered them a retainer-slash-servant and a particularly useful pet.

That was not pack. That was not _company_ when they were considered so far beneath him. But this unusual miko had changed his master's views about Tenseiga – he'd _heard_ that conversation – and thus made it so that his master acquired his first pack member ever since his mother deemed him old enough to rule the West and left to her own shiro in the sky. No, Sesshōmaru-sama did not consider Rin to be his equal; but equality was not necessary for pack. The girl-child was his to protect, his to defend, and his to care for. A daughter, if you would, only not really at the same time. His master's _ward_. And, most importantly, his _pack_.

A pack gave inu yōkai purpose.

A reason to live for.

Something to _care_ about and something that in return cared about you.

Rin's all-encompassing adoration of his master clearly affected the daiyōkai and he was thriving even with just her attention, but – and this was a _huge_ but – Rin would not be there without the miko Kagome-sama.

And that made Jaken wonder. What was it about her that churned things up, spat them out, and turned them into change? He contemplated this through visits and training, through her interactions with the children, and once they took over the hanyō's pack, through her interactions with everyone in his master's now greatly expanded pack.

It did not take long, once the pack was expanded, to see what caused such an unassuming being to affect great change upon those around her. It was love – and everything that came with it: acceptance, understanding, caring, kindness, and an ability to allow someone to simply be themselves.

Ironic that allowing someone to be themselves – as Kagome-sama had done with Sesshōmaru-sama, who was now (not that she was aware of this yet) courting her – inevitably caused others to change.

Jaken smiled, finally having reached understanding, and continued musing on how his life had changed, and how much for the better it was, despite all the chaos that came with the change.

All because of a miko.

* * *

 **Kagome: Realisations**

Sesshōmaru, Kagome was coming to realise, was a truly adept alpha and protector. He not only provided for the pack's physical needs, but he took the time to allow for their mental, emotional, and spiritual needs to be met as well. Currently, however, it was the physical protection they were benefiting from the most, as Sesshōmaru easily slid his yōki whip _through_ Tsubaki's barrier, dissolving it as she got her head lopped cleanly off and both her body and her head – now separated rather effectively – began to dissolve. Sesshōmaru then stepped forward and grabbed the large chunk of the Shikon in the dead dark miko's possession before the saimyōshō could steal it away, and then he handed it back to Kagome.

Kagome immediately took the large chunk, watching as it was within a second completely purified in her hands, and then she tucked it into her travelling pack. She knew that at the next village they stopped by, Sesshōmaru would buy her something to make sure she could keep it around her neck like she preferred, but for now, it would be safe enough in the yōkai-made bag that Sesshōmaru had gifted to her a few days ago. She blushed as she thought about that gift – now that she was travelling constantly with him, she was noticing more and more things that attracted her to Sesshōmaru, and had gone well past simple best friend and simultaneous crush territory.

Kagome was starting to develop _feelings_ for Sesshōmaru, and when, distressed about this because he was so far above her, she had gone to Sango-chan to get advice, the taijiya laughingly commented that sometimes, for all she was wise, Kagome could be just plain _blind_. Then Sango-chan informed Kagome that Sesshōmaru had been _courting her_ for well over a month now. That wasn't to say he was already in love with her – although Sango-chan said that he definitely had feelings of that nature towards Kagome – but simply that his instincts, his inner yōkai, had Claimed her as his and he was pursuing her so that she would be amenable to accepting his Claim.

Kagome had spent the entire day after finding that out blushing every time her best friend so much as _looked_ at her, much less touched her or spoke to her.

Come to think of it, the day after was when he had gifted her with her new bag.

Eek! What on earth was she getting herself into here?

She watched as Sesshōmaru gifted her with a small smile and then promptly attacked the Naraku-puppet that showed up, causing it to dissolve into ash. Then _Kikyō_ showed up and Kagome sighed. There might be a confrontation now – Sesshōmaru despised the clay miko.

Then again, Kagome thought, whatever happened, at least she still had Sesshōmaru by her side.


	10. Explanation-Acceptance

**A/N:** OMG I AM SO SORRY YOU GUYS. My laptop died on me, twice, and I had to get a new one. **_PLEASE READ THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY._** Okay so normally I don't do this, but I have to. If you have ever read my profile, you know that I have a significant amount of mental illness. For the past four months I have been having audio hallucinations which wasn't a big deal because I grew up having schizoaffective disorder and heard and saw things that weren't there for my whole life until I hit about twenty three when it tapered off. I stopped having visual hallucinations but the audio ones never really went away. Over the past four months they have been steadily increasing and as of a week and a half ago I began having visual hallucinations again as well. We're working on fixing it, but I have to put this story on a TEMPORARY (I _promise_ it is only temporary until my life settles back into some semblance of normalcy) hiatus after this chapter. If the story was complete already I would just say fuckit and keep posting but I still have a few chapters left to write, and right now I can't really write much of anything. I've tried. I figured this chapter would be a good place to temporarily put this on hold. Again, I am so incredibly sorry, you guys. If I had my way none of this would be happening. I'll be honest, it's terrifying, and worrying, but I love you all and I hope you enjoy this chapter. There will be more ASAP, but for now, it's on hiatus.

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Explanation**

"Shut up, before I kill you."

The clay doll looked offended, but Sesshōmaru just held back a furious growl and beckoned his brother forward. Inuyasha wisely took Kikyō off in another direction, and he heard Kagome sigh softly – she was probably relieved that the situation hadn't degenerated into something worse. If it weren't for his half-brother's attachment to the dead miko, Sesshōmaru would have killed her ages ago, as she was a threat to the pack. However, today her presence was almost welcome. This would be an ideal time for him to talk to Kagome about the courtship, so he turned back to his pack, nodding at the two adult ningen, Kirara, and Ah-Un. "Protect the children. This Sesshōmaru has need to talk to Kagome."

That being taken care of, and ignoring the slyly amused looks the taijiya and monk were sending Kagome, he gently took her hand and led her away. It didn't take too long to find a suitable spot, and he sat down against a tree, knee bent up and arm extended out along it, claws flexing in the night air. She sat down across from him, looking at him curiously, her head tilted slightly. "You wanted to speak to me? Um… About… About what?"

"Courtship," he responded simply.

Her reaction really was adorable as she squeaked, blushed, and looked at her hands in her lap. Then she stammered out, "Um. O-okay. W-what about it?"

He tilted his own head, peering over at her as he asked her, "Do you understand the implications of yōkai courtship, Kagome?"

She looked up at that, then slowly shook her head, "Sango told me that, um, there was claiming involved? It sounded, well, different when she said it, though, so I'm not sure exactly what that means."

Sesshōmaru nodded, then readied himself, silently thanking his father for explanations he had unwisely assumed would never be needed. As he spoke, he spoke in a formal tone, to quash his slight case of nerves and to be sure that he did not leave anything out. "What the taijiya was talking about…. It is not like the ōkami's claiming of your person. First, this Sesshōmaru must explain about instincts. Yōkai, in most cases, are ruled by their instincts. Not emotions – which are stronger in yōkai than in ningen – or thoughts, although the stronger a greater yōkai is, the more capable they become of imposing logic onto their natural instinctual responses. It is not easy, or even reliable, but the stronger one becomes, the easier it is not to allow instinctual responses rule a yōkai's actions. Instincts are the core of all yōkai, the basis upon which we operate and function. Without instincts, there are no yōkai.

"Claiming is what happens when a yōkai meets someone that their instincts recognises immediately as their ideal partner – their other half, if you would. It is not as daft as the idea of love at first sight, but rather the very soul of a yōkai recognising its match. Instinct comes first, the heart follows it. When this Sesshōmaru deduced Inuyasha's intentions towards you early on, he found his instinctive response to be innately possessive, and upon thinking over it, it was not the possessive feeling he would have simply because you were his first friend. It was deeper – and stronger – than that. This Sesshōmaru's instincts Claimed to him that you were his ideal mate. Claiming of instincts – it does not make a person into chattel, into an object to be repossessed by a stray wind. It makes them someone to be treasured, protected, cared for, and adored in all ways possible. Do you follow, so far?"

Kagome nodded slowly, "So what you are saying is, the reason that you had an unusual interest in me from the start was that your very being, your instincts, recognised me as their ideal other half, but you yourself did not understand the reaction until it became clear that Inuyasha was attempting to make me favour him, at which point you took a close look at your reaction and found out logically why you were so agitated with his actions?"

He gifted her with a small smile, nodding, "Exactly so, Kagome. This Sesshōmaru, once he realised that his instincts had Claimed you, immediately initiated courtship on his side of things. Not that he was immediately in love with you – the heart follows instinct, yes, but it takes more time than that, more getting to know. Instinct paves the way for the heart to follow, rather. It was not until this Sesshōmaru initiated and begun to apply his own particular means of courtship – for every yōkai finds different things important to them and so every yōkai courts differently – that feelings deeper than friendship began developing for you."

Sesshōmaru paused to allow her to speak if she wished, and she blushed in a fetching manner, looking down at her hands interlaced in her lap, "I… I recently came to realise that I was developing feelings towards you as well, which you are no doubt aware of, considering my actions not too long ago."

Ah, yes – the day in which Kagome became flustered at every single interaction he initiated with her. That had been highly amusing – _and_ highly gratifying as well. So he continued, "That only leaves one question then, which is this: understanding what courtship in this case means, how far it goes into this Sesshōmaru's very being, do you _accept_ his courtship? As in, do you wish for it and wish to eventually become his mate?"

He waited for her response, as patient as death itself.

* * *

 **Kagome: Acceptance**

Kagome fidgeted lightly. Well, ningen had instincts too, and _her_ instinctive response was to respond with "Absolutely!", however, there was a small issue that had been bothering her, and that needed rectifying before she could give him his proper response one way or another. "T-the only problem is, I… I'm _ningen_. I would never force somebody I cared for to watch me die whilst they stay young, especially not somebody I loved deeply, which is inevitably going to happen even if I were to not accept it, Sesshōmaru."

He immediately shook his head and gave her one of his gorgeous smiles. "A mating bond ties the lifespan of the longest lived being to that of the shorter-lived being, in order to prevent death of any kind to separate them – when one of a mated pair dies, the other does as well, so that they may be joined together in the afterlife, and when reincarnated, they will be born fairly close to one another, as the two souls become one existence. Now that your fears of causing this Sesshōmaru emotional pain have been allayed, precious Kagome, what is your response?"

 _Oh Kami he just called me precious, what on earth did I ever do to deserve someone like Sesshōmaru in my life?!_ Well then. That rather boded well. So Kagome smiled vividly, boldly meeting the golden eyes of the daiyōkai she was beginning to fall in love with – and that she had already loved dearly before now – and responding with, "Willingly and with understanding of your intentions, I accept your courtship, Sesshōmaru."

He opened his arms and she stood up, walking over to him and sliding into his lap, resting her cheek against his chest as he held her close to him, growling contently. _My answer will always be yes, Sesshōmaru._ Always.


	11. Conspiracy-Parents

**A/N:** LOOK WHO'S BACK, BITCHES! Perceptions has officially been finished, so I can start posting on it again! I'm SO sorry to have been gone for such an abominably long time, but a lot has happened including me having to go to the CSU (Crisis Stabilisation Unit) because of guess what, _more_ hallucinations. Really, acutely, horrribly terrifying ones. I just got back two weeks ago, so yeah. The fact that I managed to get three chapters done since I got back is something I'm pretty proud of. I'm not currently on my own laptop - it died and I have to send it back to the manufacturer to gwt it fixed - but my mother is kindly letting me use hers, so I'm still good. (Yay for hgosting every last one of my documents on Dropbox or I would have lost everything, gah.) I will be doing my best to publish once a week, although two chapters will be published this week because I still intend on publishing on Saturdays although because of circumstances beyond my control, it will no longer be at midnight but instead some time else on Saturday. Okay thank you guys SO much for waiting for me, and I hope this chapter pleases!

* * *

 **Sango: Conspiracy**

Sango shot a smile to Miroku as their new alpha walked off with their previous alpha – no matter what Inuyasha had thought, _Kagome_ had been the leader of the group before Sesshōmaru-sama came along, and was now the co-leader, as the daiyōkai clearly was intending to mate her. His intentions had been blatantly obvious for well over a _moon_ now (which, considering how held back he was, meant he had probably been courting her from near the very beginning of their acquaintance), and Sango and Miroku had subtly – but insistently – been drawing Kagome into thinking and talking more about Sesshōmaru-sama ever since his intentions towards her became clear. Once Shippō noticed what was going on, he had joined in as well – all three of them strongly approved of the match: Sesshōmaru-sama and Kagome just _fit_ together absolutely perfectly. They balanced each other out, suited each other, and clearly cared deeply for each other.

Miroku had been the one to inform Sango that Kagome was becoming more than merely infatuated with the daiyōkai that she claimed as a best friend, and had also informed her that a confession of said deepening feelings was soon to come. Sango had appreciated the forewarning: it gave her the opportunity to think upon what she wanted to let Kagome know, what she wanted to keep from informing Kagome of, and how to bring to her heart-sister's attention that this was a potentially life-changing match that she should take advantage of and not take for granted.

The next day had been immensely amusing for the rest of the pack – even Inuyasha had found it hilarious how Kagome couldn't even so much as _look_ at Sesshōmaru-sama without blushing furiously. Their sneaky little children had noticed and promptly taken advantage of the fact to provide more hilarity as well, drawing Kagome's attention towards their alpha more and talking about him incessantly to the point that the poor miko could barely string a sentence together without stammering. The only problem was that everybody in the pack had been forced to work _incredibly hard_ to keep their amusement under wraps so as not to force the normally-composed heart of their pack into hiding from embarrassment, instead of just reacting in a flustered and amazed manner.

None of them wanted to cause her pain, after all. That was not the point of the conspiracy between the members of first the tachi and now the pack. The point of it was to bring happiness to the two people most deserving of it probably on the planet. Some might say differently about Sesshōmaru-sama, that he didn't _need_ happiness, but from the way he had so intensely latched on to Kagome it was blatantly obvious that he had led a desperately lonely existence before her unexpected entrance into his life, and that no matter how at ease he _seemed_ to have been with the situation, deep down inside he had not actually been _happy_ with the situation.

Once their alpha male and alpha female were out of hearing range, Miroku asked Sango, "So what do you think, Sango? Will we have a happy couple coming back from this or will it take some more wooing to achieve that outcome?"

Rhetorical question, that. And one with a blindingly obvious answer. "Oh she'll _try_ using her being a ningen to save him from heartbreak but once he dashes that notion into the dirt where it deserves to stay she will _happily_ accept. Our alphas will come back a couple, for sure."

He chuckled softly and nodded, "I thought as much."

Miroku was someone Sango considered to be a good friend – with the distinct possibility for more, in the future. Not until Naraku had been defeated, but after their rather disastrous first impression, it turned out that the presence of Sesshōmaru-sama visiting them tempered the monk's perversions, and now that Sesshōmaru-sama was their alpha, nearly completely ceased them. Of course, he was still an outrageous flirt, but he was actually respectful of women now, instead of being such a lecher. Granted, from what Sango had seen, most women found his attentions – lecherous or just simply flirtatious – to be amusing at the very least and attractive at best, which Sango just _could_ _not_ wrap her head around, really. Then again, Sango was raised differently to normal ningen females, so her inability to comprehend them made sense, really.

She rather thought that her not falling for his charms straight away had been what attracted Miroku to her to begin with.

Not that she minded much, any more.

* * *

 **Shippō: Parents**

Shippō loved his father. His father had single-handedly raised and taught him – having not been mated to his mother (because while they had loved each other, it had not been a Claiming, and so they did not mate each other; kitsune liked variety and because of this they _only_ ever mated when they met their ideal other halves) her dying during Shippō's birth had not killed his father – and showered him with praise, attention, and affection. So losing his father had left an indelible impression on the young kitsune. He probably would not have recovered from his father's death and would have gotten himself killed were it not for meeting his mama, Kagome.

Mama was the biggest blessing Shippō could ever possibly hope to experience. Especially when she arranged for Sesshōmaru (who Shippō was also dreadfully attached to) to teach him the things that, being ningen, she could not instruct him in. However, despite being unable to teach him certain things, she had still raised and taught him much like his father had. Playing games, bringing treats, teaching him strategy… it was _wonderful_ and his mama was _perfect_. Right now, however, a change was happening. Mama had been being courted by Sesshōmaru for ever-so-long now, and they were cementing things even as he sat and played a strategy game with Rin.

When Sesshōmaru and Mama finally returned, holding hands and looking immensely at peace with the world, Rin nodded to Shippō, and he nodded back to her. Right. Time to set their plan into motion! Simultaneously, Rin ran up to Mama, and Shippō ran up to Sesshōmaru, and they asked – in sync with each other, of course, because that was adorable and even Sesshōmaru could not resist adorableness, much less _Mama_ being able to resist it – if their respective adults would be their other parent. For Rin, it had been asking Kagome, "If you're together with Papa now, does that mean you will be Rin's mama, Kagome-sama?" (Rin had been calling Sesshōmaru "Papa" for several sennights now.)

In Shippō's case, it meant asking Sesshōmaru, "If you're together with Mama now, does that mean you will be my papa, Sesshōmaru?"

Their parents had looked at each other, smiled, laughed (well, _Mama_ laughed, Sesshōmaru had just huffed in amusement), and each nodded to the child asking them their question.

Shippō had a papa now! He would still always love his father, but he was so glad that he had both a mama _and_ a papa to love now.


	12. Reflections-Introduction

**Satori: Reflections**

Satori watched avidly as her son explained to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law about yōkai instincts, Claiming, courtship, and mating, and as the inordinately powerful miko accepted his Claim, committed to courtship, and gifted her son with affection that he had been lacking in for most of his life. Growing up, her son had been every last bit as controlled and closed-off with his instincts and emotions as Satori herself was – and then some. Satori, at least, accepted and even revelled in affection and attention being given to her, like most inu. After her son turned five, however, something – she still hadn't figured out what, and probably never would – had caused him to recede into himself, and begin spurning things that most inu felt _necessary_. It was most perplexing, but no longer an issue any more.

Satori would have felt moderately guilty about abandoning her son so that she could form her own pack and rule in her own shiro when he was only fourteen if it hadn't been for the fact that watching him grow up so closed-off and untouchable to other people had been utterly _agonising_ when she was physically present to experience it. So as soon as he was strong enough to protect his heritage, she had left him, not only because he clearly did not wish for a pack, but also to spare herself emotional pain that was unhealthy.

So, instead, she had watched him from afar, although irregularly and not very often, as even from a distance it was painful to see him living such an isolated existence. Instead she pleasured in watching others she was familiar with in her mirror, enjoying their antics and the intriguing things that happened to them. Satori was not quite truly prescient, but her instincts were well-honed and had a touch of prescience about them, so when she got an urge to look in on someone, she always did, and the result was almost always highly entertaining.

Such entertainment had distracted her from how much it had hurt to be spurned and turned away by her own son, as well as told her when she ought to visit her friends and the few people that did not live with her but that she still considered pack.

So almost a century had passed before the urge to watch her son became increasingly frequent. At first it was simply painful once more, seeing him exist all alone with no one to truly support him – his kappa servant did not count – but then… Oh, but _then_ he met the miko. Satori had immediately recognised his reaction to the girl, although it had taken time for him to see it for himself. Once he met her and confirmed that he would be back to visit – no matter how he worded it as, it was  visitation, not a _theft_ _attempt_ – Satori began eagerly looking forward to the urges she got to watch her son. It was amazing to watch the changes – both subtle and overt – that overcame him simply from interacting with the girl.

Tonight was a delight to see, and Satori placed her mirror away, stepped out of her shiro, and took to the air, intending on meeting this extraordinary miko face to face – as soon as Sesshōmaru wasn't there, of course. She had a plan in mind for her son, and it required his absence when she first arrived.

* * *

 **Kagome: Introduction**

Kagome looked up as she felt an aura that was both achingly familiar and completely unknown to her enter her field of perception, and she immediately began to bustle about the clearing that they were in, beginning to prepare for making tea: they had a guest that would be arriving soon! Sesshōmaru was out gathering supplies and hunting for dinner, so he wouldn't be here to welcome who was probably his mother. Even had he been here, however, it was Kagome's job to make sure that their guest was properly provided for, and that meant tea.

She studied the aura as it grew closer and closer, easily noticing that it felt relaxed, at ease, and incredibly powerful. She couldn't even begin to guess the reason for the visit – from what little she had heard, Sesshōmaru's relationship with his mother wasn't exactly ideal – but she would be impeccably polite to the woman who had raised her betrothed. After all, even though he had changed from who he was – and was still changing – she had begun developing an interest in him because of his natural temperament, for all that it likely isolated all others and pushed them away. Besides; from what she had heard, Sesshōmaru's mother was more of a typical inu than Sesshōmaru was, which meant that it was _highly_ likely that the distance between them was because of _him_ rather than because of _her_.

So Kagome would not place possibly unwarranted blame upon his mother for how pained, angry, and isolated Sesshōmaru had been when he met her. She would be treated with the respect she deserved, at the very least.

Finally, the aura was above them, and Kagome stood, waiting for the inu to come into the camp. When she did, Kagome was struck with how similar they looked, and how at ease the woman was despite all of the strange people. Smiling, Kagome stepped forward and bowed at the waist, giving the female the ultimate gesture of respect one could give without submitting themselves and placing them in a subservient position, as she softly but firmly stated, "Be welcome in our camp. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady…?"

She peeked through her bangs, and the other woman was definitely amused, as she stated, "You may call me Satori, miko."

Kagome straightened from her bow and gave Satori-sama a smile, "I am Higurashi Kagome, the Shikon Miko, Satori-sama; please, just call me Kagome if you wish to be informal."

The lovely inu raised an eyebrow and smirked, before tilting her head and saying, "It is a pleasure to meet the being responsible for so much positive change in my son, Kagome. You have done wonders for him – but do not tell him I said that, hm? Let it be our little secret."

Kagome blinked at that, before abruptly realising that Satori-sama intended on _tricking_ her son, probably for his benefit. She burst into giggles at that and nodded, "As you wish, Satori-sama. Would you care to have some tea?"

This was going to be a _wonderful_ relationship!


	13. Correction-Realisation

**Satori: Correction**

When her son entered his camp, Satori was immediately inundated with wariness, displeasure, and defensiveness. He clearly misunderstood why she was there, and clearly expected a confrontation. Well, she would take a little bit of pleasure in correcting his mistaken assumptions – but not until the scene played out. Assuming he didn't catch on before it could.

She watched on as Kagome walked up to her son and kissed his cheek, gracing him with a warm smile as she asked him, "I assume that Ah-Un and Jaken are on their way with the supplies, Sesshōmaru?"

He relaxed immensely with her presence so close to him, his tone warm as he murmured, "They are. I sensed someone familiar and so I returned ahead – but it seems you have everything in hand, Kagome."

He had noticed the empty tea cups then. Would he realise? But no, it seemed he would not just yet – he had not grown that much yet. It pained her to hear how cold his voice grew when he addressed her, but Satori had to admit that she deserved at least some of his ire – after all, she had not visited him in a century or so, and he would not understand that it was because his coldness pained her. _Could_ not understand, yet. "Mother. Why are you visiting this Sesshōmaru?"

She asked lightly, "Can I not visit my son and his… _intriguing_ choice of a future mate?"

Satori carefully kept her tone light, but threaded a bit of distaste into the word intriguing, to goad him into proving his will to be strong. It was important that Sesshōmaru realise for himself that he would defend his choice even to family, and that anyone who was displeased with it would just have to _deal_. "Are you so displeased then that you had to visit in order to express your displeasure personally?"

The words were practically spat at her, and despite still disliking the coldness, she _was_ pleased with his almost vehement reaction to her supposed dislike. He would definitely not hold back from expressing his _own_ displeasure to anyone who dared object – good. So she asked him, her tone carefully neutral this time around, "And if I am? What then, Sesshōmaru?"

He bristled slightly, before firmly stating, "It does not matter. This Sesshōmaru has made his choice and will not regret or take back the decision to mate Kagome, no matter how anyone else reacts to it. If you object so strongly then you simply need not bother yourself with being in our presence, _Mother_."

It was done! Without warning she stood up and smiled at her son, warmth entering her voice as she stated, "I am most pleased with your growth, my dear son, and even more pleased with your choice of a mate. It takes a strong person to follow their instincts in the face of knowing that others will show distaste or displeasure with their choice, especially when one is in such a high position that there are countless others who might express such things towards them. Be at ease, my son. I mean neither you nor your future mate any sort of harm, and have only come here to congratulate you on your actions and choices the past few moons."

* * *

 **Sesshōmaru: Realisation**

Sesshōmaru was _stunned_. His mother… _approved_ of Kagome? Approved of his changes? She herself had always been cold and closed off – although, admittedly, not to the extent he had eventually become – and it was her own opinions on ningen that had induced his distaste for the species as a whole. And yet… she approved of his choice in taking a ningen for his eventual mate, and had additionally engineered a situation which had allayed his own worries about how he would hold up to the high likelihood of his court being strongly displeased with his choice of a mate. Clearly he would endure such displeasure perfectly well, and defend his choice no matter who might be expressing such displeasure, but…

He took a look at his mother, standing perfectly comfortably in the midst of a pack that was unknown to her (regardless of her knowing _of_ them due to her mirror) and smiling more vividly and being more open with her emotions than he had ever experienced from her before. If she was so pleased – not just with his choice of Kagome, but with how he had changed over the past several moons – then… maybe he had been mistaken as to her reasons for leaving him. Granted, he had not cared so much about her reasons until Kagome began to change him, having simply been glad that she had left and there was no more additional pressure on him.

Maybe… It was possible, then, that she had left, not because of a lack of caring, but because of caring _too much_? Looking back on his previous actions, he realised that he had likely been causing anyone who cared about him immense pain due to his own superior rejection of anyone he viewed as less worthy than himself – which had been _everyone_. Including his father, whom it turned out he had so much in common with.

He gave his mother another look, and realised that he had been making assumptions of her for far too long, and maybe, just maybe, it was time for him to quit assuming and begin _knowing_ instead. Her aura was growing slightly more agitated, so he did the only thing he could do in this situation: he looked at Kagome, and took his cue from her. She was smiling widely and looking at him rather expectantly, so he would live up to her own example. Kagome had welcomed his mother into their camp not even knowing if she would be hostile. It would be unfair of him, then, to not do the same, as he knew that she was definitely _not_ here with hostile intentions.

He gave Kagome a smile, swiftly kissed her lips, and then steeled himself, before telling his mother, "Be welcome in our camp, Mother. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

He could not deny the complete happiness that he was faced with, and thought, as they sat down to talk, that this new beginning would be yet another positive change in his life affected by Kagome. Truly, no one else could be as perfect for him as she was.

* * *

 **A/N: PLEASE READ THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO A WORK IN PROGRESS!** I'm currently working on a new Sess/Kag called Sketch. The basis of it is interactions through drawings. However, I am only familiar with the manga plotline and I know there is far more fodder in the anime for interesting things for Kagome to draw. However, I can't watch the anime - it's too stressful for me to do so because of how Kagome gets treated by Inuyasha - and so I would like to make a request! If anybody interested in helping would think of scenes they would like to see drawn out from the anime (or the manga, but I think many of the things from the manga will be drawn out) and tell me approximately when in the basic Naraku interaction plotline those things happen, I would be more than glad to seek out the material I need in order to learn about and accurately depict those scenes. I think I can make a fairly decent fic even without including the anime plotline, but I would like to branch out and I think the fic will be BETTER with those other things added in. So! There is my request; a HUGE thank you to anybody who sends me requests and things!


	14. Fear-Hope

**A/N:** And _this_ , dear readers, is why I had to change my update schedule to just on the day of instead of at midnight. Mom needed the laptop back and probably will again before mine gets fixed. :| She knows I update on Saturdays and doesn't like it (her Sabbath is Saturday -sighs- and no work at all whatsoever must be done on it) so she didn't care that she was interrupting things. Sorry for the late update. We are almost through with this fic, guys! Just two more chapters after this!

* * *

 **Naraku: Fear**

Naraku was loath to admit it, but he was running scared right about now. Everything had begun to go wrong for him the moment that _infernal_ miko from the future entered his time, even though it had also presented him with a prime opportunity so sweet that he had overlooked the amount of complication she would bring about. Of course, she was at least still predictable to a point, and thus could be manipulated. His other problem, on the other hand… That thrice-damned daiyōkai had been trouble from the outset, and regardless of his own measure of predictability, had proven to be _impossible_ to manipulate. Absolutely  none of Naraku's tricks or traps had worked on Sesshōmaru, and it was the most _frustrating_ situation possible – or so he had thought.

It turned out that the situation was to become even more frustrating and impossible to deal with when the daiyōkai had _joined_ with his much-despised younger brother. Now the miko was also impossible to manipulate due to his presence, and to top it off, Naraku had lost the large chunk of the Shikon that he had previously had!

Him sending Kohaku against the group was _really_ his biggest mistake, however – Sesshōmaru had taken the boy's shard, resurrected him with Tenseiga, and pulled him completely beyond Naraku's reach. Now he had no way to manipulate _any_ of the damned group, as he had nothing they cared about – he couldn't even manage to find any more shards, as now that he had no more of the jewel, Kikyō was no longer seeking them out and bringing them to him like she had been. That in and of itself told him that the dead woman had probably been manipulating him herself, which made him want to rage and burned him with the urge to indiscriminately slaughter anyone he could get his hands on.

Instead, he was stuck running for his life, having had to even re-absorb Kagura and Kanna in order to maintain his power – Kanna had been little risk, but used up much of his strength without any shards to augment him; Kagura had used up less strength but been an indelible risk to his own well-being, seeing as she had been a rebellious little bitch. This whole damned situation was simply so _frustrating_! He was lacking in resources, lacking in ability, lacking in knowledge. And now he was running for his life, an endeavour which he had a nasty sinking feeling was useless. Sesshōmaru could easily scent and sense him, as could that bitch of his. If he didn't manage to get some good luck soon, he was  screwed.

* * *

 **Kohaku: Hope**

Kohaku was quite bewildered at the situation he found himself in right now. He had been sent (against his wishes) by Naraku to attack his ane-ue and her tachi, and had somehow been led into a trap. It was all quite confusing and amazing. He'd found himself facing Sesshōmaru-sama and useless in a fight because somehow his body had not been his to command. He knew now that it had been due to his shard and Kagome-sama taking control of it, and thus, control of his body. It hadn't taken long at all until Sesshōmaru-sama had disarmed him, taken his shard out, and then Kohaku had woken up to a bright light and warmth in his body, blinking muzzily to try to be able to see again. When his vision had finally cleared, he'd been met with his ane-ue and her tachi welcoming him to their pack and accepting him despite his previous actions against them.

Now Naraku was in hiding, and Kohaku was being an informant on all of Naraku's previous moves. It felt so wonderful to actually be of help to them, as he methodically led them to each of Naraku's previous dens of hiding, instructed them in how to disable the traps within said dens, and aided them in completely destroying Naraku's possible hiding places, one by one. Kagome-sama even went so far as to infuse each area with her aura, saturating them to the point that no yōkai less than daiyōkai-level in power would ever be able to inhabit them again for at _least_ several moons, if not even longer than that. It was intimidating how ridiculously powerful Kagome-sama was, and he could tell now that it had _only_ been the power of the Shikon that the Kikyō golem had given his previous master that had allowed him to keep the upper hand.

According to Sesshōmaru-sama however, Naraku was on the run, which made Kohaku feel entirely vindicated – the bastard would get what was coming to him once they had finished ridding Nihon of the hiding places that he had scattered all over. He also felt a smug satisfaction at the fact that the battle was completely won now, and that they were reducing the hiding places in order to _humiliate_ the spider hanyō that was their foe. They were _making_ him stay on the run, chasing behind him, forcing him to abandon his hiding places, promptly destroying them as soon as he was gone, and wearing him down. He knew that it might be petty of him, but he frankly did not care about how delighted he felt when faced with their actions and consequences. His enslavement and torture had _not_ ended up being senseless, he was now a useful ally to his ane-ue and her friends, to Naraku's enemies.

He was accepted by them simply for being himself, as well, but he was gratified that he could actively aid them in their purpose: the utter and complete destruction of every last piece of taint that Naraku had left behind, and eventually going so far as to rid the world entirely of his presence, even though there was no way on earth that he could even slightly possibly be a threat to them in his current state.

For the first time since he had been ruthlessly murdered and mercilessly enslaved, Kohaku was happy. Kohaku had hope again. It was the best feeling in the world.


	15. Vengeance-Compassion

**Kikyō: Vengeance**

Kikyō had the final dozen and one shards in her possession now, and was about to take measures to see that the utter destruction of the spider hanyō that she had been tricking was compete in its entirety. Once it had become clear that the wench whose soul was keeping her in this clay form had no feelings for Inuyasha and never would develop any – that took longer for Kikyō to realise than it should have, but she blamed exposure to Naraku's complete idiocy for that – she had set about aiding them in any way she possibly could, which was difficult to do as she also had to trick Naraku into believing that she was on his side.

Kikyō, however, was not proud of many of the things that she had done in the course of her revenge – both her revenge against Naraku, which she realised now would have failed miserably and had been an enormous risk and danger to the one person she loved more than anything else, and her revenge against Kagome, which she did not even have the right to.

Oh she had felt like she had had the right to it. The girl caused her constant pain, as the soul-piece trapping her in this clay body resonated in the most painful way with any Shikon shards, as she desperately tried to pray that the souls she survived on would go to their proper places once she died again, as she had to aid the hanyō she loved more than ever whilst hiding the entire time, for fear of Naraku finding out that she was playing him for a fool. It was rather ridiculous, the lengths she had gone through in order to try to rid herself of a rival that – she could now clearly see – had never been a rival to begin with.

It was no surprise, then, that Sesshōmaru-sama distrusted and despised her, wanted her dead.

But she was steadfast as Inuyasha came towards her, holding her palm up and pointing towards Kagome, the miko from the future who was more powerful than any miko ever had been before. "No. They are tainted, as I am too weak to purify them. I will not move, nor will I ask you to leave, but it _must_ be Kagome who retrieves the last of the shards that I have been able to find."

Kagome rested a hand on Sesshōmaru-sama's arm and Kikyō heard her say, "Don't worry. You'll be able to see me and she can't hurt me even if she wanted to, which I'm pretty sure she doesn't any more."

The younger woman walked steadily towards her, her own palm facing upwards as – one by one – the dozen and one shards in Kikyō's possession lifted into the air and floated towards her, purifying themselves the moment they touched her skin. Kagome allowed Kikyō to hand the final shard over personally with a wry grin, "I had a feeling that you had something to say to me, otherwise I would have just called them from over there. But as you tried to kill me more than once, Sesshōmaru reasonably considers you a danger to me. If we weren't in range of his whip you would never have been allowed to get this close to me."

Kikyō nodded and hesitated, before forcing the words out, "I have caused you much pain and trouble ever since I came back into existence, and I deeply apologise for that. The longer I have been imprisoned by the purity of your soul, the clearer my thinking has become. I… After you finish with Naraku, will you free me?"

* * *

 **Kagome: Compassion**

It did not take much thinking to respond to her once-enemy with the answer she wished for. "Once Naraku is defeated, I will call my soul back to me, yes. Then you will be free."

She made no mention of the fact that – if her wish worked out right – Kikyō would come back completely alive and capable of being with Inuyasha, who the undead miko actually _really_ loved now. Her feelings before her death had not been a true love, as she had wanted him to change his own state of being in order to be with her, rather than accepting him as he was, his whole person, including the yōkai part.

However being undead and stuck in a clay form – in other words, being robbed of the very humanity she had been prideful of – had changed that. Kikyō had changed enough in the past couple months that Kagome had long forgiven her of her previous traitorous actions, realising that Kikyō had come back with the thirst for revenge – against everything – too strong within her for her to be capable of thinking clearly.

That being said, despite her forgiveness, Kagome was not letting herself get attached to _this_ Kikyō, because after the battle this Kikyō would be dead, and the actual Kikyō would be restored to life. A Kikyō who had the capacity to be happy and laugh and sing and experience joy. It was amazing that this version of the older miko could even feel love for Inuyasha, but that just proved that they were soul-mates. If she hadn't felt love for Inuyasha – well Kagome would not think about that. Maybe the Kami would have intervened in that case. Either way things went, Inuyasha would at least have the chance to be happy with her wish being worded how she was intending on doing so, and even Sesshōmaru agreed that if she were only the worst half of herself that she could be, he would treat the returned Kikyō with ambivalence until she gave him reasons to either like or dislike her. It was exceptionally generous of him.

Smiling, Kagome offered, "You might be too weak to purify the shards, but that is because my soul-shard is trying to come back to me and what is left is being held in place by the spell and is significantly less of it than it used to be. However, your reiryoku still seems to be exceptionally strong. Will you be aiding us in the final battle with Naraku?"

Kikyō looked over at Inuyasha before nodding and walking away. Kagome smiled over at her hanyō brother. "Go ahead. Dinner will be ready when you get back."

He ran off after her and Kagome walked into Sesshōmaru's arms, where she was always safe and secure. He held her close, scented her hair, and rubbed her back, murmuring, "Soon it will be over, Kagome."

Soon.


	16. Completion-Wish

**A/N:** This is the last chapter of Perceptions - I tried to write more but it just wanted to end here. Thank you everyone who came along for the ride!

* * *

 **Kōga: Completion**

Hearing from the miko that he had pursued for three moons – until it became clear that she was never going to choose him over Sesshōmaru-sama and that he needed to just damn well move on – that they had cornered Naraku and he was invited to join in the vile hanyō's defeat was a true boon. He needed to get vengeance for his tribe's death, or he would never rest easily again. It wasn't a matter of wanting revenge, specifically. It was more a matter of that unless he could see Naraku's death with his own eyes, he would never, ever be able to believe it had happened. The spider was just too tricky and powerful; or at least, he _had_ been before Sesshōmaru-sama had joined up with Inubaka's group and formed a larger, more cohesive, and stronger pack for himself.

Honestly, Kōga couldn't even resent the crazy-powerful jerk for stealing away Kagome because the damned asshole had Claimed her, and a Claim like that was sort of an enormous deal. Especially coming from somebody who nobody ever thought would find a partner to be with because he'd never wanted one. Finding out that – it was blatantly clear from his actions after he cemented his Claim – in all reality he had been desperately lonely and unhappy made the taste of defeat far less bitter for Kōga. At least he had his tribemates and companions. At least he had always had love and support from everybody around him. Sesshōmaru-sama had clearly not had any of that.

When he arrived at the camp, the entire group stood up and Kagome smiled softly at him, tilting her head. "Welcome, Kōga-kun. Are you ready?"

He flushed a bit and nodded, "Yeah. Ginta and Hakkaku are stayin' with the rest of the tribe to protect it. So we can all go now – wait a minute why is the clay -"

Kagome sharply shook her head and interrupted him firmly, "Kikyō has as much claim to vengeance as you do, if not more considering Naraku engineered her death and Inuyasha's sealing from the beginning. If you have an issue with her helping us out, then you can just leave. We can't afford to be divided."

Coming from someone who had nearly been killed by the clay bitch… well, fine. He would just deal. "Right. Okay then."

They left, and soon were in the clearing where Naraku was hiding. Badly. He would have thought it was a puppet it was so obvious but from the way the hanyō was shaking in rage and tentacles immediately began flying everywhere, this was the real deal. Kōga settled in and begin attacking, keeping an eye on the others.

Sango and Inuyasha used their hiraikotsu and Wind Scar respectively to cut swathes through the masses of tentacles. Kagome and Kikyō shot purification arrows at the hanyō's tentacles, clearing the way towards his body. Miroku used his kazaana to clear the air of the saimyōshō flying around. Sesshōmaru-sama – wait what the fuck?

Sesshōmaru-sama was _glowing_ , and soon he was holding a brand new sword – holy fuck did that come from his _yōki_? – and then dashing into the melee. Kōga watched as he used his own sword to chop at the tentacles around him, dashing in and out between the others' attacks, and the first time Sesshōmaru cut a bunch of tentacles away, Naraku _screamed_ , the tentacles dissolved into molten puddles of goo, and everybody stopped what they were doing for five full seconds before Inuyasha said, "Well I'll be damned. Way to go, let's finish this bastard off!"

That seemed to breathe new life into everybody, and within no time at all there was a clear, direct path straight to Naraku's body, and Kagome shot an arrow glowing so brightly that it nearly blinded him into the hanyō. Even if it had been blinding, he still would have watched, would have forced his eyes to stay on the scene as Naraku was illuminated from the inside out, screaming in agony before he collapsed into a pile of dust.

It was done. His vengeance was complete.

* * *

 **Kagome: Wish**

Now that Naraku was gone, all eyes turned towards her as she pulled the Shikon – in all its purified glory – out of the pouch around her neck, and stated firmly into the air, "The Shikon no Tama is needed no longer, so I wish that it would cease to exist and that the others harmed by Naraku would receive peace and happiness!"

Nobody was expecting what happened next, least of all Kagome. The jewel shot into her chest, and soon she was fallen to the ground, screaming in pure agony as the Shikon forced its way into her body. She soon lost track of everything around her except the searing pain coursing through her form as she writhed on the ground, purification exploded around her, before she was consumed by darkness. " _You think you have won, little priestess, but now you are cursed. We cannot die, and now neither can you. It will be a pleasure watching you live whilst everything and everyone around you dies. As you live in agony while those around you attain happiness. Your hanyō love now has his own priestess, your ningen friends have found love in each other, and you will outlive even your son. Enjoy your punishment, miko._ "

Kagome said nothing, firmly pushing down all the retorts she wanted to make as she floated in the cold, unfeeling darkness. If she was immortal – truly so – then her beloved would be immortal too. The mating bond worked like that. So she wasn't going to be unhappy like it wanted from her.

Finally she was spat out of the darkness and Sesshōmaru gracefully caught her, but now she was in agony again and bit back a scream as stinging shocks of ki coursed through her body. "Ngh! Fuck! T-the Shikon-"

Sesshōmaru sent his yōki into her body through a hand on her forehead, and strangely enough, it helped, as he soothed her, "Shh… Talk when you are hurting less, koishi. It can wait. Your plan was successful, by the way. And I shall not need to withhold judgement, for the once-undead miko is clearly a very different person now that she is alive. You might also find it interesting that an ōkami named Ayame – who happens to be the princess of the Northern tribes – breezed in here not even a quarter of a candle mark ago and announced that Kōga needed to fulfil a promise of betrothal he made to her when they were children."

That caused exhausted giggles to spill from Kagome's mouth, and then Sesshōmaru sat down with her and her son climbed into her lap while her daughter cuddled against Sesshōmaru's side. "Mama, mama!"

"Mama, are you okay?" Her son asked.

Then her daughter went next, "Mama why did it hurt you?"

She shushed them and cleared her throat. "The Shikon wanted to punish me for wishing it away. But it truly couldn't just disappear for good so it merged with my soul. I can't die ever again any more."

Sesshōmaru's pleased intake of breath made everything worth it, as did the gleeful squeals of her children. Yes, she would have to watch many of her loved ones die over the years – but she would forever have her mate by her side, and that made everything golden.

Even though she hadn't wished for herself, her wish came true. Everybody she loved was happy, including herself.


End file.
